OBSESSION…Kevin Cassidy and the Donegal players arrived at Clones in 2011 ready to take down the masters, and he feels Tyrone will be equally as determined

JULY 17 Tyrone v Donegal – the clash the whole country will be watching and one that is sure to get the pulse racing.

Let me begin by saying that the two best teams in Ulster have reached the decider, and when that happens you are guaranteed a humdinger of a contest.

Donegal have been at the top table in recent years while Tyrone have been lurking in the wilderness, so that alone should add a bit of spice to the occasion.

This game reminds me so much of when we clashed with Tyrone in 2011 in the Ulster semi-final.

At that time Tyrone ruled supreme with numerous Ulster titles and three All-Ireland titles to go along with them. For us it was a case of a team trying to make that breakthrough.

When a team is at the top like Tyrone were at that time or like Donegal are now, every other team has their eye on you.

Teams scrutinise your training methods, your tactics, even your warm-ups to see if there is anything that they can pick up from you.

Like my good friend Tomás O Sé once put it “sure if they go set dancing up North every other team is away set dancing.”

Teams want to knock you off your perch and will do whatever it takes for that to happen.

In 2011 we trained like animals all year and every night at training the word Tyrone would be mentioned at least three times. ‘Are we training as hard as Tyrone? Can we beat Tyrone? How can we beat Tyrone?’

In a way we were obsessed with them, but we had to be to stand any chance of beating them.

We placed a lot of emphasis on the belief that they were a tired team. They had been on the go for a long time so we felt that we had the legs on them and this was driven home every night at training, so much so that it became embedded in our minds.

When we clashed that year we were ready as we had been talking about them all year so now the time had come to put our words into action.

With Tyrone being top dogs at that time they had an air on invincibility about them so once we breached that the sky was the limit for us, which is exactly where that team went in 2012.

This young Tyrone team reminds me of us back then. They are fresh, hungry and probably sick to the teeth of watching Donegal succeed while they sit at home twiddling those thumbs.

All year they would have spoken about Donegal and the need to topple them. They will have used the same approach that we used in 2011 by stating that Donegal are a tired team and that they have the legs on them.

Like 2011 the time has now come for them to back up their talk. The Donegal dragon will enter the Clones arena so it’s up to this young Tyrone team to slay it.

I believe we are in for a fascinating encounter on Sunday. Both teams will tear into each other and with the pace both teams attack with it should be exciting to watch.

Tyrone have looked impressive all year and they really do have some serious pace in their ranks so Donegal will be tested to the limit.

Donegal have been answering their critics since the summer arrived and when you read some of the comments made by their players it’s plain to see that when people question their pace, mobility and legs it hurts them and this hurt is driving them, which is a good thing for Rory Gallagher.

There really is very little between these two teams and it could be a lucky bounce of the ball that decides it. Decision time and I’m going with Donegal to sneak it by two.
comment@gaeliclife.com